General News
15 March, 2022
Horsham fishing competition makes a splash
The Horsham Fishing Competition once again attracted anglers of all skill levels to the banks of the Wimmera on the long weekend.
THE Horsham Fishing Competition once again attracted anglers of all skill levels to the banks of the Wimmera on the Labour Day long weekend.
Horsham Fishing Competition president Bruce McInnes said there were almost 1100 anglers registered for the event.
“We’re very happy with those numbers after we had to cap attendance at 1000 last year and it’s certainly enough people to be able to keep the event going into the future,” he said.
“Over the day we had about 400 carp caught and 280 natives.
“The natives came in mostly before noon and it was a high number which could be from starting earlier in the day as we started at 6.30am this year.”
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The longest carp caught in the 2022 competition was 71 centimetres, caught by Peter Edge and in the junior competition, Shelby Jones caught the longest carp at 64 centimetres.
Mr McInnes said there were many opportunities for participants to win prizes.
“We have a random draw prize pool for everyone who registers and then we have a catch fish pool for anyone who catches a fish plus the junior and senior categories,” he said.
“We are really trying to target families, we do a post-event survey and always take a lot of interest in the results as we try to accommodate as many people as possible.
“While we can’t always please everyone, we want to make the event the best it can be for the average attendee.
“We’re pleased to get as many people of any skill level as we work to build interest and participation in the event.”
Mr McInnes said being flexible and receptive to change was what had allowed the competition to continue.
“We’ve been lucky that the event is in early March as we got a competition in 2020 before any restrictions and they were easing in time for our event in 2021,” he said.
“The good weather for our event this year was a plus.”
Ms McInnes said it was pleasing to see the carp being fished in large quantities.
“Targeting the carp helps improve the environment for the natives, the carp is removed and we work on catch and release for the native fish,” he said.
“All the carp was donated for consumption so that was good as well.”
Wimmera Catchment Management Authority chief executive Dave Brennan said the organisation sponsored prizes for the carp category in the competition.
“From a CMA perspective every carp that was taken out of the Wimmera River and any of our waterways is a good thing,” he said.
“If we can encourage anglers to target carp it is a win, win and we are working towards healthier waterways.”
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Mr Brennan said carp muddied up waterways which had negative impacts on the ecosystems within the local rivers.
“Carp are often described as the rabbits of waterways as unlike other fish they muddy the water as they scour the riverbed and denude vegetation,” he said.
“The muddier the water is the less light can get through and vegetation, which is a habitat for macroinvertebrates who are building blocks of the ecosystem, then really struggles.”
Mr Brennan said it was a great effort to catch the amount and sizes of carp during the competition.
“Well done to the committee, it is a great recreation event for the community and it has long term positive impacts on the environment so it's a great outcome,” he said.